Texas Historical Marker #13271
First Baptist Church of Palacios. The Rev. William H. Travis formed a school and Missionary Baptist church in Palacios in 1905. That year, the congregation became known as First Baptist Church. In 1906, the Texas Baptist Convention chose Palacios as the site for its Baptist Training Union Encampment, bringing missionaries and teachers into the community each year. At the corner of Welch and Second Street in 1909, the church built a sanctuary, having worshiped previously in homes and at the encampment tabernacle. The congregation grew over the next decades, moving in the 1970s to a larger building at this site, where it has continued to grow and serve its community. (2005) #13271
202 Main St, Palacios, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #13244
Pybus-Koerber House. In 1915, builder Joseph Pybus erected this home, designed by C.F. Emmons. James L. and Ina Mae (Perryman) Koerber bought it from the Pybus family in 1924. Owner of the Palacios Garage and Auto Co., J.L. also served as mayor, 1948-52. Other business interests included a canning operation and travel court on this site. The travel court, along with rooms in the house, provided space for military personnel and families from Camp Hulen. The bungalow cottage features a pyramidal roof, central hipped dormer, three-bay porch and textured concrete blocks with oyster shell aggregate. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 2004 #13244
208 Main St, Palacios, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #13090
St. John's Episcopal Church. The community of Collegeport was founded in 1908 across the Tres Palacios Bay from Palacios, which had been established in 1902. Three Collegeport families organized an Episcopal congregation. Grace Theodora Smith collected donations from local residents and businesses to raise funds for land and a church building. She collected nearly all the money needed, and Bishop George Herbert Kinsolving gave the last dollars toward building the structure. Grace Smith envisioned a Mission style structure, and the congregation purchased the lumber and concrete blocks to build it, completing it in August 1911, when the Rev. John Sloan of St. Mark's Episcopal Church of Bay City held the first service. In November of that year, Bishop Kinsolving consecrated the church, which he named Grace Church of St. Mary's Mission in honor of Smith and her hard work. Smith wed Edgar G. Jones at the church in 1914. Because of adverse weather conditions, including a freeze, a tidal wave and a hurricane, many local residents eventually left the area and the church. The sanctuary fell into disuse by the early 1920s. In 1922, Bishop Clinton S. Quin established St. John's Episcopal Church in Palacios, which met for a time at the home of Sara Jane Pybus. In 1926, her son, Fred Pybus, and others, including J.E. Lothridge and George A. Harrison, moved the Grace Church building from Collegeport to Palacios. Bishop Quin consecrated it as St. John's Mission on March 20, 1927. Since that time, St. John's congregation has refurbished the sanctuary and added a parish hall. Membership has remained steady, and the congregation continues to gather for worship and education, a testament to the strong foundation laid by early area Episcopal residents. (2004) #13090
?, Palacios, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #12741
General John Augustus Hulen. General John Augustus Hulen Missourian John Augustus Hulen (1871-1957), citizen soldier and railroad executive, came to Texas with his family in the 1870s. He later attended Virginia's Staunton Military Academy and returned to Texas. He joined a militia unit and later served in the Spanish-American War and then in the Philippines. There he earned a Silver Star and a Congressional Citation. In World War I, he earned a French Croix de Guerre and a U.S. Distinguished Service Medal. After the war, he was instrumental in establishing Camp Palacios in 1925, renamed Camp Hulen in 1930 in his honor. In 1935, he retired from service a Lieutenant General, the highest rank in the militia. (2002) #12741
Loop 141 W (Main Street), off SH 35 Business, Palacios, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #12436
R. J. Hill Building. Robert J. (1864-1930) and Kate Elizabeth (Breggan) Hill came to Palacios in 1904, soon after its founding. Contractor J. G. Bontrager built this concrete block commercial building for them in 1910. It originally housed a mercantile store with living quarters on the upper floor. Later uses included medical offices, a Depression-era canning kitchen, American Legion hall, Montgomery Ward store and a museum. Featuring elements of the Richardsonian Romanesque style, the Hill Building remains a prominent structure in downtown Palacios. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 2000 #12436
401 Commerce, Palacios, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #12065
First Presbyterian Church of Palacios. The First Presbyterian Church of Palacios was organized by the Rev. W.S. Red on June 30, 1907, in the local Methodist Church Pioneer Hall. Eighteen people joined the congregation that day, many of them active in the early growth of Palacios itself. William Clement was elected ruling elder. Duncan Ruthven, a founding member, was elected mayor when Palacios was incorporated in 1909. A church building was completed at Third and Morton streets in 1910, built at a cost of $5,393.02. In May 1911 the congregation called Dr. J. P. Green as its first full-time pastor, and the church was chartered by the state of Texas that November. By 1912 church organizations included the Sunday School, the Westminster League, and a Ladies' Aid and Missionary Society. The congregation established a Mexican mission that year. An education building was completed in 1948. during World War II, a soldiers' center operated by the church was important to nearby Camp Hulen. A new sanctuary was dedicated in 1951. The Mexican mission became the second Presbyterian church of Palacios in 1955. The congregation has long been active in the cooperation of religious denominations and the improvement of racial relations in Palacios. Church women worked toward the desegregation of Palacios public schools in the 1960s and, with Methodist, Catholic and Baptist churches, members sponsored a multi-racial tutorial program. In 1975 the congregation sponsored a Vietnamese family immigrating to the United States. The First Presbyterian Church of Palacios continues in the traditions of its founders, active in worship and in service to its diverse community and its mission worldwide. (1999) #12065
501 Third Street, Palacios, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #12061
Cates-Price House. John T. and Opal Cates Price arrived in Palacios in 1906 and were soon joined by Opal's parents, Reuben and Lula Cates. They purchased adjoining lots, and by 1910 architect Winn Wood had designed companion homes for the two couples. The Prices sold their house within the decade and moved next door next to the Cates house. Though the craftsmen bungalow was a dominant style of the early 20th century, this example is unusual in its side-gabled roof and second story with dormers and veranda. It was a showplace and hosted such guest as former Texas Gov. Pat Neff, who dined here weeks before John Price's accidental drowning death in July 1921. The home was the unofficial Camp Hulen Officers' Club during World War ll. Mrs. Price and Mrs Cates lived here until 1946. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark -1998 #12061
506 S Bay Blvd, Palacios, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #12055
Site of Camp Hulen. Camp Palacios was established on this site in 1925 as the summer training camp for the 36th Infantry of the Texas National Guard. Located on the Turtle and Tres Palacios Bays, the land was donated by Palacios area citizens. Over 6,000 guardsmen arrived in July of 1926 for the first training session. Renamed for Major John A. Hulen (1871-1957) in 1930, the new camp supported the largest concentration of troops for field training in the United States military. In 1940 the War Department leased Camp Hulen; first to undergo anti-aircraft training were National Guard units from several states. By 1941 the city of Palacios suffered a housing shortage that was alleviated by government housing near Camp Hulen. After extensive development the camp had facilities for 12,000 military personnel. Basic training continued until early 1944 when U.S. soldiers were removed. German prisoners of war, guarded by a small contingent of U.S. personnel, were housed here from 1943 to 1945. In 1946, the War Department returned Camp Hulen to the National Guard, for whom it had become too small, buildings were slowly dismantled and sold. In 1965 the property was sold jointly to a group of Palacios citizens and a development company. (1997) #12055
?, Palacios, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #05249
Texas Baptist Encampment Grounds. Selected in 1906 by the Texas Baptist convention as the site for a permanent encampment grounds, this coastal area was the scene of many inspirational camp meetings typical of Texas and the entire south in the 19th and early 20th centuries. In those days thousands of families would come by wagon, surrey, buggy, but primarily by train to spend weeks or longer at the grounds. Religious activities and the opportunity for relaxation and social life made the days pass pleasantly. The campers enjoyed fishing, swimming, and boat rides on the bay. On opening day of the first camp meeting here (held July 3-12, 1906) gate keepers had to use buckets to collect the $1 admission fees -- typically paid in silver dollars. Campers stayed in the varied quarters provided and cooked their meals out of doors. Over the years, many outstanding baptist ministers spoke at the meetings. Among these were John L. Hill and George W. Truett. Prominent leaders included J.F. Barnett, R.H. Coleman, T.C. Gardner, and Bob Jolly. The first permanent auditorium was moved from La Porte (site of earlier encampments). It was replaced by a memorial auditorium, 1923. The present building was erected after the hurricane of 1942. (1968) #5249
?, Palacios, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #03914
Palacios Preparatory School. Opened in 1910, the Palacios Preparatory School was located at this site, behind the family home of its founder, Martha Pearl Dickson McGuire (1876-1962), and her family. Music instruction was given in upstairs rooms of the home. It was the first Palacios school to offer courses in cultural arts in addition to academics. Students performed twice a year in public programs. As many as sixty pupils were enrolled, and parents often traded labor on school projects for childrens' tuition. The school closed in 1918, when the McGuire family moved to Palestine, Texas. Texas Sesquicentennial 1836-1986 #3914
?, Palacios, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #03912
Palacios Cemetery. The primary burial ground for citizens of Palacios, this cemetery dates to the beginnings of the community. The death of Alice Singer in 1905, three years after the founding of Palacios, gave rise to the need for a community cemetery. The land, which was once a part of the estate of Texas Cattle Baron A.H. "Shanghai" Pierce, was donated to the city for use as a cemetery by the Texas Rice Development Company and the Palacios Townsite Company. The plot was surveyed in 1907, and additional land was acquired in 1918 and 1983. Located just west of the original townsite, the cemetery's grave sites are marked with a variety of monuments, from simple wooden crosses and carved angels to large granite stones. A large monument to honor U.S. military veterans was erected in 1963 by local posts of the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars. Soldiers and veterans of six wars are buried here -- The Civil War, Spanish-American War, World War I, World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. Additionally, stones marking the graves of Vietnamese refugees, a number of whom settled in Palacios and other Texas coastal towns after 1975, can be seen here. Texas Sesquicentennial 1836-1986 #3912
?, Palacios, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #03149
Luther Hotel. Old Palacios Hotel. Built 1903, east bay front. Moved 1905 to present site. Enlarged. A resort for investors from north, buying orchards, land on coast. Had farmed dining room, permanent orchestra. Has withstood many hurricanes, including 1961's "Carla". Recorded Texas Historic Landmark, 1965 #3149
?, Palacios, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #02538
Home of Horace Yeamans. A member of the 1829 colony of Stephen F. Austin, and one of organizers of Tres Palacios Baptist Church. Homesite is land given him for service in Army of the Republic of Texas. House was built, 1850's, by shipwright. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark, 1965 #2538
?, Palacios, TX, United States